This week: Make Good Trouble!
Across America, let’s make good trouble.
We are facing the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations.
The same spirit that fueled Selma, Montgomery, and the March on Washington lives on in our unified action.
Join us from July 17th – July 19th as we honor the legacy of John Lewis and carry the torch of the civil rights movement.
Good Trouble Weekend of Action
Last July, IMV spearheaded a major Good Trouble Lives On event in Utica, co-sponsored by the NAACP Utica-Oneida County Branch, the Oneida County Democratic Committee, The Interfaith Coalition of Greater Utica, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Utica, and the Oneida County Democratic Women’s Club, and featuring an impressive lineup of powerful local speakers including Mrs. Freddie Hamilton and Rev. Sharon Baugh.
This year, we have emphasized the theme of John Lewis’s legacy, Good Trouble Lives On, and his priorities around voting rights, civil and Constitutional rights, and equality and dignity for all as part of our regular weekly rallies. For more information about Good Trouble Lives On in this critical election year, see the national website and map. The Kirkland Democrats are holding their monthly rally on the Clinton Village Green in collaboration with the Hamilton Rally Team. For complete event descriptions, what to bring, and additional upcoming events, see the GO Resistance Calendar.
We hope you will choose to participate in one or more of these events over the coming days:
Thursday July 16, 4:00-5:30 pm
Weekly Rally in Whitesboro with the Theme Good Trouble Lives On!
8 Park Ave., Whitesboro
Friday, July 17, 4:00-5:00 pm
Good Trouble Lives on Rally in Clinton
Sign up to attend: https://www.mobilize.us/john-lewis-actions/event/978922/
Friday, July 17th, 4-5:30 pm
IMV Visibility Brigade
Meet at Rt. 49 West exit onto River Rd in Marcy. We provide the signs!
Saturday, July 18th, 10:30 am-2:00 pm
Volunteer for a Know Your Rights Event in Utica (details below)
Saturday, July 18, 12:00-1:30 pm
Good Trouble Lives On Rally in Rome! it's also the 1-year anniversary of our first Rome Rally!
Corner of N. James Street and Erie Blvd.
Let us know you’re coming: https://www.mobilize.us/john-lewis-actions/event/986097/
What Can You Do This Week?
Volunteer for Know Your Rights Event in Utica on Saturday, July 18.
Several groups locally are partnering to distribute Know Your Rights forms in a variety of languages. Cards will be distributed and basic Know Your Rights training will be provided at local storefronts and small businesses. Drivers and other helpers are needed. Use this form to sign up now to volunteer for the event which launches at 1640 Genesee Street in Utica.
Join Us at IMV’s Annual Summer Potluck Picnic on July 30
We have a covered pavilion and will provide drinks, plates, and cutlery for those who don't bring their own. Building a grassroots progressive community and making political action local, bite-size, and fun is how we make change!
Bring a dish to share!
If you are concerned about plastics, we encourage you to bring your own beverage in a reusable bottle.
Meet and greet candidates for office!
ANNUAL POTLUCK - Date: July 30th, 5:00 - 8:00 New Hartford Town Park.
Let us know you’re coming https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/986434/
Statewide Indivisible Zoom Focused on Election Actions
Tuesday, July 28th, 6-7:30 pm, OneNYS Indivisible Statewide Meeting with Sarah Reeske, Sign up! Join us for our statewide call for Indivisibles across NY on July 28th from 6-7:30pm. It's a little longer because we will have a robust discussion where your input is valued and needed! Key topics include plans and actions to win midterm elections. Register HERE NOW!
More Campaign Fundraisers Coming Up
Thanks to everyone who has been supporting candidates for office by purchasing tickets to their fundraisers, inviting friends to their meet and greets and fundraisers, or making campaign contributions. Just a reminder that giving to your own state senate and state assembly candidate means that you are participating in the state matching program, often at a 12:1 match!
There are some more fundraisers coming up. We’ll try to put these in the calendar so you can keep track!
Blake Gendebien (NY21) July 24 in Rome
Jon Lipe (119th State Assembly) July 28 in Utica
Mike Brown (Oneida County Clerk) August 4 in Rome
We Have Always Loved Deep Canvassing:
Now We Can Do It to Flip NY21?
Blake Gendebien's field program is rolling out deep canvassing across NY-21 this summer, and we have all been invited to participate!
Quick version of why: Deep canvassing is the only door-to-door method with peer-reviewed evidence of actually changing minds, and the change lasts. Instead of “pitching,” why a voter should vote for a candidate, volunteers ask voters which issue matters most to them, ask why, and really listen to the story underneath. Then they connect that story to Blake, a dairy farmer running against everything people hate about Washington. In a district where folks feel unheard, a conversation where someone finally listens is the most persuasive thing we can offer. And every conversation produces something you can see: voter testimonial videos, photos, and yard signs going up in your neighborhoods.
The campaign provides everything: the script, a one-hour remote training, MiniVAN turf, and literature. You bring yourselves, your neighbors, and your local knowledge. The campaign is running trainings every Saturday at 10:00 AM over Google Meet, and you can join any week: https://forms.gle/MoLNiSefe1wQwCDn7.
To get this off the ground, Blake’s organizing director has offered to come to our area for one of our first canvasses. He’ll run the training himself, walk doors right alongside you, and show everyone firsthand that this is not only possible but effective. Nobody gets handed a clipboard and left alone.
AI Data Centers: Info Session in Syracuse and Protest in Ilion
Want to learn more about AI Data Center and their impact on communities in upstate NY communities? CNY Solidarity Coalition and Indivisible Onondaga County are hosting a presentation on Sunday, August 2 at 3 pm about data centers in NYS by Jennifer Stromer-Galley, a Professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. Data centers are essential to the growth of the burgeoning AI industry. But they come with controversy. This talk will give an overview of data centers—what role they play in the AI industry, current and proposed data center initiatives in New York, and the current state of public policy in CNY. The event is at All Saints Parish Center, 1342 Lancaster Ave., Syracuse. Please RSVP.
The second “Say NO to the AI Data Center in Ilion” Protest is planned for Saturday, July 25th, 12;00-1:30 pm, at East Clark Street, Ilion. Say NO to the proposed AI data center coming into the former Remington Arms factory building in Ilion, NY, which is now owned by Turin Management LLC since late 2024. The Herkimer County IDA is working with Turin on the proposed AI data center. This is a peaceful protest. For more information: https://facebook.com/events/s/say-no-to-ai-data-center-in-il/1573084794447568/
Contact Your Members of Congress on Key Issues
Reject $87 billion in additional funding for Trump’s unauthorized war with Iran.Call Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and your U.S. representative, and demand that Congress refuse any further funding for the war. Trump has continued escalating military action despite bipartisan efforts in Congress to limit his authority. After calling, follow up with a brief email.
Reject dangerous provisions in the National Defense Authorization Actthat would deepen U.S.-Israeli military entanglement and shield the Netanyahu government from meaningful congressional oversight and accountability.
Tell Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to oppose the CLARITY Act.The revised bill still lacks meaningful ethics limits on senior government officials’ financial ties to cryptocurrency and does not adequately address corruption or consumer protections.
